Cheshire West and Chester Council
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Job Summary
Job Description
We welcome artists working in a range of forms – including print, sound, textiles, photography, collage, and digital media – who are passionate about storytelling, community engagement, and amplifying underrepresented voices.
Background information
Construction of the new Cheshire Archives centres in Chester and Crewe is well underway, and they are on track for opening in Autumn 2026.
As part of the activity plan, artist Cath Campbell, is leading a creative engagement programme, to connect a larger and more diverse audience with archives.
The Creative Engagement Programme:
The Creative Engagement Programme aims to uncover and celebrate historically underrepresented women’s stories from the archives. This will include temporary public artworks, educational resources and a large-scale engagement project, the 20,000 Women Zine Project, which aims to collect and preserve stories of 20,000 women and girls living in Cheshire today.
The Cheshire Archive: A story shared – 20,000 Women Zine Project
For the 20,000 Women Project, artists will work with community groups, schools, libraries, and local organisations across Cheshire to co-create zines. The resulting zines will become part of the Cheshire Archives, preserved and displayed in both new centres and forming a permanent living collection of women’s voices from 2026.
Artists Fee £3000
Artists will be paid a day rate of £300 (or equivalent half day fees)
The contract will include:
1 day induction and training
1 day preparation
7 days to include a mix of delivery of face to face workshops, training sessions, development of online or self-led resources
Up to £300 materials budget
Timeframe
w/c 24 November Artist Shortlisting
1-3 December Artist Interviews online
9 January Inception Meeting
January tbc Training session
Feb – Dec 2026 Workshop Delivery
For more information or access support, please contact: mailto:[email protected] – [email protected]
Job Requirements
Artist Requirements
- Ability to travel independently within Cheshire
- Public liability insurance
- Registered for own tax/self-employed
- Experience in participatory arts, education, or community engagement
- Be flexible to respond to a variety of requests for workshops at different times and days – we will work with each artist to try to accommodate availability.
We particularly welcome applications from women, non-binary artists, and those from Black, Asian, LGBTQ+, disabled and working-class backgrounds, whose voices are often underrepresented in the arts and archives.
Job Overview
- Job Title: Cheshire Archives: a story shared – 20,000 Women Zine Project
- Salary: Under £10K
- Hours:
Part time - Role: Creative
- Contract: Temporary
- Closing date: Mon, 24 Nov 2025
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Location:
North West
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